Latest Fire Recovery News

Spirits were lifted for hundreds of West Maui families this week, as Sacred Hearts School celebrated the blessing of their new temporary campus on Friday.

The first dozen or so Ka Laʻi Ola temporary housing units are nearly ready for occupancy by wildfire survivors in pre-fab, futuristic NanoNest tiny homes with curved ends and floor-to-ceiling transparent walls that take advantage of views of the ocean and West Maui Mountains.

On Friday, Maui County lifted an unsafe water advisory that had been in place for nearly a year for parts of hard-hit Lahaina town after the Aug. 8 wildfire disaster, Department of Water Supply Deputy Director James “Kimo” Landgraf announced.

Today, following months of good faith negotiations, the County signed a Term Sheet with key participants in the lawsuits arising out of the tragic Maui wildfires of August 8, 2023. The agreement outlines the framework for a global settlement that would resolve claims and disputes related to the fires that devastated Lahaina and other communities on the island. 

The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation today released its Maui Strong Fund One-Year Impact Report sharing the impact of grants deployed to support the immediate and long-term recovery of the people and places affected by the devastating wildfires on Maui in August 2023. 

The nonprofit Homestead Community Development Corporation (HCDC) added eight housing units on Maui to its housing portfolio over the last six months. The rental units (located in Wailuku, Lahaina and Kīhei) are first dedicated to wildfire impacted families over the next three years; and then to permanently affordable rental units for Maui citizens.

The state Department of Transportation reopened access to Honoapi’ilani Highway (Route 30) between Keawe Street and Hōkiokio Place at noon today. County of Maui officials are reminding motorists that this portion of the highway is meant to be an alternative to Lahaina Bypass used by through-traffic only.

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi released today a second policy brief regarding how to speed up homebuilding on Maui in the wake of the deadly August 2023 wildfires that killed 102 people in Lahaina and left thousands of people homeless. It outlines four actions to assist with the rebuilding of destroyed housing or the construction of new temporary housing in the Lahaina burn zone, and two reforms that it says would increase Maui County’s housing stock in general.

To commemorate the one year mark since the Kula wildfire—and showcase how much still needs to be done to clean up from last year’s disaster—Mālama Kula, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was formed in the wake of the Kula Fire, will be doing what they’ve been doing for 12 straight months—holding 30 consecutive volunteer cleanup days for the entire month of August.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Maui fires on Aug. 8, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke on the Senate floor to pay tribute to the victims, honor survivors, outline the needs of the Lahaina community, and call for continued federal support.

The meeting will include an update on alleviating traffic by restoring Honoapiʻilani Highway as a secondary route for through traffic only, a presentation by Lahaina Land Trust and a report on the status of debris clearing by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The County of Maui Planning Department will do a review of the new Special Management Area/shoreline rules that were signed by Mayor Richard Bissen on July 26.

After a disaster or catastrophic event, insurance loss data specific to such an event is collected periodically from insurance companies doing business in the affected state. State insurance departments use the data for multiple reasons, including determining the total number of claims and insured losses, monitoring the solvency of domestic insurers to ensure they are financially sound to make claim payments to their insureds, and improving the overall experience of policyholders directly affected by a disaster.

In August 2023, as families and students were scattered across the island, Hawaiʻi Keiki’s Maui provider team mobilized to ensure access to care for Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HIDOE) students, assisting in shelters, providing virtual telehealth visits, managing health hotlines, and supporting the community through various efforts including partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers for medical care, conducting health assessments, refilling prescriptions, and facilitating access to vaccinations in affected areas.

During community-inspired, County of Maui-supported tours called Remembrance Rides, nearly 600 Lahaina residents last weekend revisited their beloved Lahaina town for the first time since the devastating wildfires. The Remembrance Rides signaled the start of Kuhinia Maui, County-supported gatherings for residents that mark one year after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation has advised motorists that Honoapi‘ilani Highway between Keawe Street and Hōkiokio Place will re-open at noon Aug. 1 for through traffic only.

Maui County residents are worried, stressed by the islands’ high cost of living and four in 10 are considering giving up and moving away, according to interviews of 2,646 residents, including 1,105 directly impacted by the August 2023 wildfires.

The project includes the installation of 52 weather stations on four islands. The weather stations, mounted on Hawaiian Electric utility poles, will provide meteorological data that will help the company to decide whether to activate and deactivate a public safety power shutoff, or PSPS. Under the PSPS program launched July 1, Hawaiian Electric may preemptively shut off power in areas that are at high risk of wildfires during periods of forecast high winds and dry conditions.

La‘ikū will provide 16 two-bedroom, one-bath units at 560 sq. ft. each. The homes are being built on approximately two acres of land that was previously acquired by the HDOT as part of the Lahaina Bypass project. Monthly rent for homes in La‘ikū will be $1,750, which tenants can pay via personal funds, rental assistance from FEMA, or insurance proceeds. The $3.9 million project is funded by HCF and the state of Hawai‘i and developed by CNHA, which has a five-year revocable permit to use the HDOT parcel at no cost. Completion is scheduled for September 2024.

Structural evaluations of the Pioneer Mill smokestack documented concerns about its condition, prompting the County of Maui Department of Public Works to close Lahainaluna Road between Honoapi‘ilani Highway and Kuhua Street, effective 3 p.m. Monday, July 22, 2024.

Maui County Council members unanimously approved today a resolution authorizing a global settlement of all wildfire litigation filed against the county for wrongful deaths, injuries and property damage stemming from the Aug. 8-9 wildfires in Lahaina and Upcountry.